The UConn Baseball team secures a 2-1 win against the University of Rhode Island. This leaves them at 25-16 in the season. (Photo by Brandon Barzola/The Daily Campus)
ECU (31-10, 11-1 The American):
ECU continued its rampant pace as it won all five of its game this week, with an in-conference sweep of UConn this weekend. ECU starter Jake Agnos set new season-highs Thursday with 8.2 innings of one run ball and 14 strikeouts. There was a double header Saturday that started with a seven-inning game, which ECU took 5-2. In game one, the Pirates threw four different pitchers, with none going more than 2 innings. Spencer Brickhouse led ECU to the sweep-clinching win in game two of the double-header. He drove in five of the nine runs they scored and hit two bombs that put the game out of reach of the UConn comeback. A four-run eighth inning propelled the Pirates past UNCW Tuesday. Another big eighth inning against Old Dominion helped ECU stave off a late comeback Wednesday.
Tulane (26-14, 8-3 The American):
Tulane pulls up at second in the conference as they went 1-2 in this week’s play, with a win over Memphis and losses to Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana. Their weekend series versus Memphis started off with a cancellation Friday, so they played a double-header Saturday. Tulane lost the first game 11-8 in seven innings as they could not come back from giving up a seven-run in the second inning. However, in game two the Green Wave dropped a mercy rule on the Tigers as they threw up a nine-spot in the fifth and followed it up with six runs in the sixth to win 20-5 through seven. Grant Mathews hit three-run home runs in the fifth and the sixth to lead Tulane to victory. On Tuesday the Green Wave started off strong, putting up three runs in the first three innings, but failed to score again and dropped their game versus Southeastern Louisiana 10-3.
Houston (25-16, 8-7 The American):
Houston jumped into a tie with Cincinnati with their series win versus them this weekend. The Cougars grabbed two out of three with wins Saturday and Sunday. Houston was unable to tie the game up with the bases loaded and just one out in the ninth inning Friday and dropped the game 3-2. A two-run first propelled them Saturday, as starter Clay Aguilar went 6.1 strong and gave up just one run. Third baseman Jared Triolo’s three RBI and a combined effort from the bullpen led the Cougars to an 8-4 win Sunday. Houston’s six-run fourth inning led them past Sam Houston State 9-3 Tuesday in a non-conference game.
Memphis (20-18, 5-6 The American):
After the two-game set versus Tulane, Memphis played two conference games against North Alabama on Monday and Tuesday. Six innings of one-run ball from starter Alex Hicks would allow the Tigers to prevail, despite putting just three runs on the board Monday. Tuesday’s ballgame was a whole different story, as the Tigers scored early and often. They put up a run in each inning between the second and the seventh, with five spots in the fifth and seventh. Catcher Hunter Goodman and center fielder Colton Neel each had four RBI, and Goodman hit two bombs. The game finished 18-11 and the Tigers took home their 20th win of the year.
Wichita State (20-20, 5-7 The American):
Wichita State is sitting in seventh in the conference after a series win versus UCF this past weekend. They grabbed wins on Thursday and Saturday, but dropped Friday’s matchup. Going into the seventh of Friday’s game, the Shockers were still competing, but they gave up seven in the inning and would not come back. On Saturday, the pitching staff combined to strike out UCF batters 17 times in the win. They also lost to Oklahoma in a non-conference game Tuesday, by the score of 9-4.
UCF (24-17, 5-10 The American:
After the aforementioned series loss to Wichita State, UCF came back out Monday and took a win from Bethune-Cookman 5-4 on a tenth inning walk-off single from Matthew Mika. Mika went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in the win.
USF (19-20, 2-10 The American):
USF swept The Citadel in a three-game non-conference series this weekend, then added another win Wednesday versus FGCU. They picked up a win Thursday before sweeping the double-header Saturday as well. Coming into this week, the Bulls had lost four straight but are now on a mini-tear of their own. Pitcher Baron Stuart threw eight innings of one run ball Thursday and the staff held strong Saturday morning as well, giving up just one combined. The Citadel and USF had dwelling six-run innings in game two, but the Bulls ultimately pulled out the win 12-9. Consistent and early production helped the Bulls to a 6-1 win Wednesday as well.
Mike Mavredakis is a campus correspondent for the Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at michael.quinn-mavredakis@uconn.edu
